Malfested Affection
by Dylan Millwood
Summary: Naruto turns his back on his world and vanishs from it. Five years later, a new Malfested is roaming in Odenburg and comes across a certian young woman with a painfully similar past as him...along with a self-rightious brother. Dark Naruto, NarutoxPyrrha/Pyrrha Ω
1. Chapter 1

"What do you _mean_ I'm going to be leaving Konoha? I thought this was the safest place for me right now!"

Naruto Uzumaki, sixteen-year-old shinobi of Genin status in the Hidden Leaf and container of the dreaded Kyuubi no Kitsune, gripped the edge of the village leader's desk while said village leader rubbed one of her temples to suppress the encroaching headache.

"Listen, Naruto, it's not entirely my choice here. After the incident with Hidan and Kakuzu...The council overrode my decision, and the majority of the clan heads voted in favor as well. Since this involves the village _security_, their votes _do_ count. I don't have power override this." Tsunade leaned back in her chair as Naruto slowly sat down, digesting the information.

Tsunade, the current Hokage of Konoha, sighed as she looked to the blond in front of her, feeling anything but joyful right now.

"Banished because of a chakra exersise...heh...talk about a bad joke." Naruto chuckled bitterly, a icy smile on his face. "Sayonara...if we ever meet again, I doubt it'll be on good terms, dispite whatever our own wishs are." Naruto said, then spun on his heel and left the office.

* * *

Everything was going smoothly, those were the thoughts of Shimura Danzo as he observed everything that had transpired withing the hokage's office using Hiruzen's old crystal ball.

No matter what his enemies thought of him, he truly loved his village. Everything he had done had been for her sake. Every crime and every sin were committed to protect Konoha. No matter how many who wished it and its people dead he had caused to be created...yes, he loved this village.

The first step would have to be destruction, of course. The end of this peace-loving system set up by the Senju clan and carried on by Sarutobi and his successors.

This was the time for revolution and he would rule Konoha, he would put it in its rightful place, as the greatest power in the world, the revolution will take away the blood of the innocent, but they were the weak who wanted nothing but to live in peace, were nothing but the food of the strong.

Making alliances with other countries, Shinobi villages, and trying to instill peace were not what a Shinobi did. Shinobi bring about war, they were supposed to kill without question, and do it from the shadows with the public eyes of those around them being none the wiser about it. The only way for this village to survive is to make war with everyone and rule over all of the Elemental Countries. Danzo smiled darkly to himself, He was the only one fit to be in any kind of position of power. Not the Godaime, not the Sandaime, not the Yondaime, not the Council...there could only be one.

There could be only HIM.

That was why he had used Uchiha Shisui's Kotoamatsukami within his right eye to control Tsunade to make up how the council overrode her decision, using the village's security as a reason for it.

Of course, once the council learned that Tsunade had "taken it upon herself" to strip Konoha of the military advantage of a biju, they'd demand she step down and then he would become Rokudaime.

The Shinobi no Yami felt himself fighting the urge to laugh, which was unusual since he disapproved of emotion.

Yes...everything was going smoothly.

* * *

As Naruto made his way down the main street of Konoha for the last time, his mood grew darker with each step. He turned over all his momories and scowled at himself for feeling bad about putting this place behind him.

Sensing a presence that stopped right before him, Naruto stopped walking and looked up. Well...he _could_ survive without his nose in a smut book after all. Church hymns must be getting sung in hell right now.

"Hey Naruto," the silver-haired Jonin stated with a wave to his sensei's child.

Naruto scoft. Kakashi's treatment of him was wrong starting from the bell test. How on earth could he have expected a boy who had been ostracized by his own home to just grasp the concept of teamwork like that? Naruto had never had anyone really looking out for him, especially not his classmates. While the exercise would be understandable for Sasuke (if he weren't such a stuck up prick) as he had been pampered by his village, it made no sense for Kakashi to reasonably expect him, Naruto, to rely on two people who have never been there for him to help him. Despite his outgoing personality, Naruto was made to where he had to be a loner from the beginning. What kind of fuking idiot was Kakashi not to be able to see that anyway?

Next was the training. Or lack thereof. Naruto could list what Kakashi taught him before leaving for three years with one finger: Climbing Trees...and that was it. Kakashi had regarded Sasuke more highly than him, that much was pitifully obvious; as he watched Neji fight Hinata, he had thought that not even Sasuke could stand up to the Hyuuga, as if that bastard set the bar for Genin standards; also when he told Naruto that he couldn't train him, he blatantly said he had more important things to take care of as his way of blowing Naruto off to play father-son time with Sasuke because they both had the sharingan. How Kakashi had abandoned him during the one month break of the Chunin exam was more than a little messed up. Granted that things worked out for the best, Kakashi didn't know that would happen. What exactly was better chakra control going to do to help the blond defeat a Hyuuga prodigy?! He probably planned on him losing to have Sasuke see how Neji fought so the Uchiha could beat him, the bastard.

First and foremost, if you couldn't train more than one student at once, don't take a three man squad. Secondly, Kakashi knew the Kage Bunshin. He freakin knew it! Why couldn't he have at least made one to instruct him. Thirdly, and this is the kicker, he had the _gall _to reprimand Jiraiya for teaching him the Rasengan after he had taught Sasuke the Chidori! This clearly indicates that, while he knew the technique all along, Kakashi had no plans of teaching it to the Uzumaki because he didn't think he could handle it appropriately. What the fuck did he think Sunshine boy was going to do with the Chidori; use it as a magnetic force to attract an ice cream truck for the Konohamaru corps to have a snack! Hell no! He actually believed that Sasuke would use it to protect his fellow shinobi of the Leaf. Didn't he spend a lot of alone time with Sasuke? You'd think he was a little more observant of the fact that everything Sasuke did was toward killing Itachi...especially since the prick had said that!

Kakashi had said that Sasuke had taken several days learning how to use lightning. How long did it take Naruto himself to master his element? One. Freaking. Day. Okay, so maybe Naruto couldn't create a thousand clones on the fly during the Chunin exams, but he was pretty damn close. Also, not to forget the rather ironic fact that Naruto mastered the Rasengan in roughly one month, the same amount of time taken to train for the third round...a rather obvious smear on Kakashi's poor teaching. The idiot didn't even realize how Jiraiya taught Naruto the Rasengan because Kakashi is a genius ninja and Naruto is not and therefore the copy-ninja cannot teach it to Naruto. Hell, Kakashi KNEW the Rasengan...but was more than likely going to give that to Sasuke too if the emo hadn't turned traitor.

Frowning, Naruto asked, "What do you want Kakashi?" Kakashi raised his one visible eyebrow at the boy's tone. Did he hear a touch of contempt in the boy's voice?

"Come on now. Is that any way to greet your sensei?" Kakashi asked with a frown hidden by his mask.

"I'm sorry. But why should I call you sensei?" Naruto said.

Kakashi frowned even deeper. So the boy was upset with him for something. Better to get this out of the way now...

Turning towards Naruto, Kakashi said, "I taught you as well Naruto. Don't forget that. I know that Jiraiya has taught you these past couple of years, but I'm still your sensei."

Surprisingly, Naruto expelled a sigh. "Listen Kakashi, I can see what you're trying to do, and I don't really feel like that's what I need right now. Don't try to get into an argument with me about this. It's just going to end badly for you. So please, get lost."

"I'm afraid I can't do that Naruto. As your sensei, I need to resolve any problems between us before we work as a team," the man responded.

Naruto looked at Kakashi. He wore an expression of annoyance and exasperation at the man's prodding. His blue eyes looked squarely into Kakashi's lone black one, and the Jonin could see that the boy didn't hold him in high regards at the moment.

"Alright Kakashi," Naruto began. "You want it, you got it, so I apologize beforehand. It's plain and simple: you're NOT my sensei. Why? You never truly taught me."

Kakashi blinked at that. He raised his hand, saying, "I taught you plenty. Remember the mission in Wave? I taught you all."

"No," Naruto stated simply. "You didn't teach me much at all. Sure, there was the tree-walking, but what about after that? What did I learn from Sharingan Kakashi, master of a thousand techniques? The answer is so easy its baffling: absolutely nothing."

"Come on now Naruto, you're being unfair. I taught you all about teamwork. I-"

But the blond cut him off with a scoff. "Yeah, we _really_ learned about teamwork," Naruto stated sarcastically. "One teammate nearly killed me in a psychotic quest for power to murder his older brother, and then the other made me waste three years running around after said guy that wanted to kill me because she diden't want to learn HOW to live without Sasuke's ass to slobber over. I must say Kakashi, you got team of the fuckining year." Naruto sneered.

His face much more serious now, Kakashi said, "Now that's even more unfair Naruto. That happened a very long time ago. I thought you knew about forgiveness."

Sighing again, Naruto said, "Oh just shut up Kakashi. You don't know me very well at all. Just because you saw me every day doesn't mean you took the time to talk to me and understand me. We all know there was only one person you gave two shits about on that team. Because of that, you basically were the one who destroyed our so-called "team"."

"_What_?" Kakashi asked in shock. "_I'm_ the one who broke up our team? No, I'm afraid that was Orochimaru, Naruto."

"Of course it was. Blame the obvious evil, right Kakashi?" the blond youth asked as he closed his eyes. "No, I'm afraid that Orochimaru simply capitalized on your shitty teaching. You did nothing to quell Sasuke's arrogance, even though a shinobi of your experience should know what arrogance can do to a ninja. Not only did you let his arrogance go, but you also fueled it with your favoritism. You gave him all these skills like the chidori, and then he became even more arrogant. Especially because you're only teaching these things to _him_. 'The dobe and the fangirl aren't worth his time,' he must have thought. Then, when he first loses in the Forest of Death to Orochimaru, it sets in motion a chain of events that lead to the end of the Uchiha Clan in Konoha.

"He was perhaps humbled by the defeat, though I really couldn't tell. Someone kept me out of the loop about what went on after I was knocked out. But then you took him under your wing to train him for the finals. He got the chidori, and he thought he was tough shit again. Only he found that it wasn't true when Gaara nearly killed him. Then, to make things worse, I defeat Gaara right before his eyes, using techniques that surpassed his own. Me, the fucking _dead last of the academy_! It must have messed him up right good. So he grew jealous of me. He began to despise me for even having the gall to be stronger than him. He needed to get stronger than me if he ever wanted to avenge his clan. So here comes Orochimaru with whisperings of power and vengeance. And Uchiha Sasuke accepts. The rest is history."

The silence was the only answer Naruto desired. "So there you have it folks. That's the whole song and dance. You fucked up, Kakashi. Plain. And. Simple. Understand? Oh...and by the way, after you finally showed me one trick in three full years of "being my instructor" as you like to delude yourself into thinking, the way you explained it was piss-poor. "Grind your chakra against each other." Ha!...I took your advice and what happened? I end up inadvertantly tapping into the Kyubbi's power while inside the village. The council flipped out and now I'm banished because of it. So thanks for nothing!" With that, Naruto walked past the one who thought he deserved to call himself his teacher.

Kakashi froze. The news of what he'd just been told rooting him to the spot. He'd gotten Minato-sensei's son banished? That couldn't be!

"Naruto...are you serious?!" he demanded. He needed to know.

"Not like you really care, but yeah. So now you can go back to sticking your nose in those "How-to-die-a-virgin Manuals" you're so addicted to!"

Kakashi recoiled at that, having figured out what that ment.

"The Icha Icha series isn't a "Virgin Manual"! No live woman can dare compete with the joys Icha Icha gives!" Kakkashi snapped.

"I see...then by what you just said added onto the fact that _HE_ can't stand those books...you just confessed that all fans of Icha Icha have less active sex lives than _Maito Gai!" _Naruto cackled.

Kakashi looked stunned at that, then let out a loud howl of agony like a wounded animal, collapsed and curled up in to a ball, shaking with his knees to his chest.

Naruto laughed mockingly, the edges of his iris flickering back and forth from blue to red as he enjoyed that he'd just broken the jonin. He didn't notice the micro portions of the nine-tail's chakra he was channeling. Naruto turned away and walked out of the village gate.

Kakashi lay there, currled into a ball, sputtering gibberish to himself and only stopped when a hand entered his feild of vision.

"I heard what he said about my literature...fans of Icha Icha have less active sex lives than Maito Gai of all people...that's a low blow. The seal must have weakened further," Jiraya said grimly as he helped Kakashi stand up, "the Kyuubi's influence has most likely been infecting Naruto's mind and body, having some sort of bad influence on him."

Kakashi felt his heart stop in sheer horror. No...no...NO! That couldn't be! He'd assighned Tenzō there for the sake of stopping that with his Mokuton: Hokage-Shiki Jijun Jutsu — Kakuan Nitten Suishu! He really HAD caused Minato-sensei and Kushina-sama's som to be banished!

"Kakashi...what's up?" Jiraya asked, puzzled.

"Uh...Jiraya-sama...you're not gonna like what I have to tell you...DON'T KILL ME!"

The sage grabbed the Jonin by the neck and glared, someone shouting that was never good news.

"What's happened?!"

* * *

Naruto paused as several birds flew off from the direction of Konoha, as if fleeing.

He laughed sourly. Where to now? That was the question...and with the Akatsuki running around, it had to be answered right away.

"Naruto!"

He turned to look at the shrill, grating voice's owner, already feeling a headache form.

"What do you want, _Suck_-ara _Whore_-uno?!" he snapped as Sakura landed in front of him, looking ready to bite. And clearly not liking the wordplay on her name.

The blond idily noted Hinata, Ino, and Neji were with her. A detainment team.

"What're you doing?! Do you know how much trouble you're causing for Tsunade-sama?! The Council's furious with her, baka!" Sakura screamed.

At that, Naruto froze, Say what? Why would the ones who wanted him gone be angry with Tsunade for...? Naruto clenched his fists so hard they were bleeding. OF COURSE!

"So Tsunade used how much I care for my FORMER Village as a way to get rid of me, huh?!" Naruto snarled.

"Wha...N-Na-Na-Naruto...that's not...What're you talking about?!" Hinata said. Where was this coming from?

"Shut it!" Naruto snarled "She told me the council wanted me gone, but you're saying they're in an uproar against her for telling me to get out! Someone's lying and I can't trust anyone from Konoha!"

They all froze. The logic was sound, but what did he mean Tsunade-sama told him the council wanted him gone? It made no sense!

"Naruto...if you're right that someone's lying, since Tsunade-sama told you to your face that the Council were the ones who wanted you gone yet they say it was her who took it upon herself the banish you, then you need come back with us and we'll find out the truth." Neji said.

Naruto laughed "The truth? HA! What dose the truth matter?! I've been backstabbed by those I wished to protect no matter who the one responcable is! People can't hurt you if there's no one around, if you trust then you'll only be betrayed, while if you trust no one you'll never be disappointed. That was something I learnd long before I ever even considered entering the academy. I was a fool to disregard that." Naruto said coldly.

Through with talking, Naruto threw a flashbomb and it went off, blinding everyone and when the light faded, they were shocked to see Naruto gone.

Neji and Hinata activated their Byakugan and quickly spotted their target running for it and tore off after him, the two medics following suit.

Naruto snicked to himself as they ran after the clone and moved from his hiding spot "Enjoy the goose chase, fools..." he muttered then walked off, no particular direction in mind.

He continued on this way, wandering and trying to find a place to go before the Red Dawn Orginzation came swooping in like vultures, aiming to rip the fox from his guts.

Naruto soom found himself on the border between Konoha and Iwa. He sighed, any real idiot could tell how he looked like the Yondaime would cause trouble if he went into the TsuchiKage's lands.

Scowling at the fact, he stomped his foot down and the ground gave way. His eyes shot open in surprise before he fell even further, loose dirt and stone all around him.

He hated the sensation of falling, there was no solid ground beneath your feet and most of the time, when one would land, it would just be as a bloody mess on the ground.

He struck the ground again. He winced in pain at the landing. The dirt and rock followed a moment later.

For a long moment, he lay there, stunned and partially buried. Finally he blinked and began to stir. With a groan, he sat up, pushing rubble off of himself, and looked around at his new surroundings.

To his dismay, on looking up he saw that the hole through which he'd fallen was far above. Much too far to jump out, and, judging by the sheerness and shiny slickness of the walls, much too far to climb, too. But other than the small bit of light from above, the cavern which Naruto now found himself in was dim and gloomy. He glanced to his left, and saw, instead of a wall like the one to his right and front and behind him, a deep blackness that stretched away into the unknown.

Naruto paused to consider his situation. After a moment, he stood with some effort and made his way to one wall. Reaching out, he felt it with his claw. It was made of solid rock, and was as slick with wetness as it appeared.

_'Well, this sucks.'_ Naruto tried to climb up the wall with chakra, but couldn't even get a grip on it, the walls were too slick, much like that ravine Jiraiya had pushed him into when attempting to have him tap into the Kyuubi's chakra to summon the toads. After a few tries he gave up and turned away, crossing his arms over his chest and giving a sigh of exasperation. '_This really sucks.'_

As he wandered about, he came across what looked like it might have been some kind of chapel or meeting hall at some point. It had been ripped appart and all Naruto could see in the room was a battered scroll with dried bloodspots on it resting atop a smashed alter.

Feeling curious, the blond went over to the scroll and unrolled it, the paper stiff with dry blood and age, then began reading. Looked like a partly-written mission report.

Looking it over explained a few things, such as his current location. So this place was (or at least had been planed on being) an old Jashin temple, eh? From what was written in the scroll, Naruto gathered that some Iwa shinobi felt that the extream of envoking the way of Jashin was needed for them to win the war with Konoha. Needless to say, the TsuchiKage and his men had found out and slaughtered the would-be Jashinists and razed the potental temple.

They had done a good job too, that Naruto had to admit. this torn, battered scroll was all there was left of the incident.

Setting the scroll down, Naruto wondered how he was going to get out of here, seeing as the scroll said that all the entrinces and exits had been destroyed. Growling to himself, the sixteen-year-old slammed a fist into the wall behind him and, to his surprise, the rock moved were his blow had landed.

Loose stone in Iwa...Naruto smelled a rat. pulling the sheet of rock out of the way, the blond found a book hidden within a hidden compartment that had been behind it. Kept safe.

Picking it up and blowing the dust off, Naruto looked over the tome.

"Blood magic...huh? Sounds interesting." he said, opening the first page. It was basically a warning and general overview of what was in the book:

_A blood mage employs dark rites, originally taught to mortals by demons, in order to access more powerful magic. A blood mage must be willing to sacrifice their own life force or that of others in order to wield this power_.

_Blood magick is the act of using blood as a tool when making a protection amulet, performing a ritual, casting a spell, binding, hexing or cursing. In this text we will discuss possible benifits and drawbacks about the use of blood in each instance. _

_PHYSICAL ailments, like HIV and other blood-born illnesses are real. All magickal practitioners are urged to use only their own blood, and only collect the blood by medically sanitary means. For women, it's easy to catch the menses blood and use it in place of any of the cut blood in any of the examples given. Menses blood is the most powerful and most intimate of all. For men it is difficult to give blood and involves greater dangers in the way of blood-born illnesses and diseases because he must be cut open._

_On the SPIRITUAL side of things let me just say that blood includes your life essence. The bond of blood can backfire. Using blood binds you to the intent and outcome of the magick work, in the spiritual sense. Binding with blood magick is eternal and forever through lives and deaths and time upon time. Be careful with it. Forever is an immeasurable amount of time._

_Blood-spells cannot be undone. Remember that your blood is your essence. Without your blood a spell carries your intent, your purpose, your focus and drive. With your blood a spell carries all that plus a piece of you. Blood spells require quite a bit more energy than non-blood spells. The DNA in your blood resonates at the same frequency as the blood in your body. Even after it has dried out the DNA in the blood is still you. You are bound to the spell just as you would be bound to an enchanted object (like the protection amulet). Breaking a blood spell is near to impossible unless you can un-burn, un-spill, un-wash or un-scatter. The results of a blood-spell is stronger than that of a regular spell, for all those involved, for better or for worse._

_Additionally there is no such thing as an anonymous blood-spell. A blood-spell carries with it, your signature. Blood attaches your essence. It makes sense because blood is personally identifiable, magical, life water. Without blood there is no life. Your blood is unique and identifies as yours alone, a combination of your parents and similar to your siblings, but uniquely yours. So if you wish to remain anonymous in your spell work stop here. Read another spell post. This is not the one for you._

_Depending on the intent of your spell you may need different supplies. Follow all the same steps of typical spell casting and add a few drops (3 for spiritual matters and 4 for earthly concerns) of blood to your charm, written spell or element of choice. For deity-involved spell-casting your blood is an offering. Treat your blood with the same reverence you do the incense, food or other offering._

_If you are using Fire magic you can drip the blood onto the paper before burning. It will not cause your blood to boil or anything like that. It will release a tiny bit of your essence from the physical plane into the spiritual._

_If you are practicing Earth magic dripping your blood onto the Earth will not cause the Earth to open up and consume you. It will release a tiny bit of your essence from the physical plane into the Earth's energy._

_If you are practicing Water magic no leviathan will emerge from the depths of the drain to eat you. It will release a tiny bit of your essence from the physical plane into the sea of the cosmos._

_If you are practicing Air magic the wind-swept blood droplets will not cause a tornado to destroy you or your home. It will release a tiny bit of your essence from the physical plane into the atmosphere._

_If you are casting your spell with the help of a deity research your deity's opinion of blood. The gods are many things and some are squeamish. Learn the story of your deity and make a guess. Follow your instinct. Your deity will let you know if the blood is appreciated or not._

_If you have the need for a sudden spell without time for preparation skip the blood. Life essence is nothing to trifle with._

_If you are not asking the assistance of any deity or energy but casting purely from your secret self, pleasure is better than pricked fingers any day._

_Conclude your spell-work the way you normally would and go on with life. Do not be surprised if the recipient of your spell feels like you must have had something to do with the change in their life. There is no such thing as an anonymous blood-spell._

_Blood-spells hold on longer and act more swiftly than bloodless spells. There isn't a way to remove a blood spell. You can't soak your blood out of the earth or water, you can't recall it from the wind or un-burn it. The magic has been worked and cannot be undone. As with all spells the effects will wane with time. But understand BLOOD-SPELLS CANNOT BE UNDONE EXCEPT BY YOUR DEATH!_

Naruto read that over several times, burning the message into his memory. That was something he knew he'd need to recall from now on. Then once he had it down by heart, he looked over the rest of the book, all of it being spells now that the warning was out of the way.

The author had quite a bit of sense to add the warning first, Naruto decided, then pulled out a kuni and cut his wrist open, blood poured out of the self-made wound and onto the ground. Once enough of the viscous liquid was on the ground, Naruto saw the injury heal quick as it always did due to the Kyubbi's influince.

Looking at the blood, Naruto chanted one of the spells from the book, as he did so, the crimson fluid began to bubble and began rising and falling, as if from a fountan.

As soon as the incantation finished, the blood lept up and swirled around in the air, forming a large burning hole in it right in front of him.

A portal.

Looking through it, Naruto felt his stomach clinch and the power of the beast within him flared. A feeling of joy, of excitment...a feeling of going home.

"The demon world huh...? Well, I know it can't be worse than here." the blonde mused and went through it, putting everything about who he was behind him.

* * *

**_FIVE YEARS LATER..._**

Exiting a broad sandstone formation that curved out of the ground like a great hill and was pocked with caves of varying sizes, a figure left one of the larger caves that couldn't be seen from the ground.

Tall and lean, the figure's slight build belied his immense strength and his near-superhuman toughness with a body remarkably suited for combat.

He was a handsome fellow, if intense. His visible skin, which constituted to his face, was pale as alabaster, and was free from any blemishes. His face was devoid of baby fat, and his facial structure was proof that he was young, no older than sixteen to twenty years of age, with a strong jaw and high cheekbones to give him the impression of a noble. Full lips that were pale blue-white, the color of a high mountain glacier, were shut in a stoic expression. He had silver hair with blood colored streaks running through it in a long tail down his spine with a few spiked bangs. His violet, slited eyes were piercing and narrow.

Over a skintight slate grey zip-up vest, his black he was clad in a skin-tight, all obsidian black trench coat that swayed in the wind along with his hair. He wore a pair of black kackhis and matching combat boots. His hands were covered by a pair of black gloves and his belt buckle looked like a fanged skull with no lower jawbone. His choice in attire giving him an ominous dark, liquid brilliance. The inky color made his form almost opaque, giving an appearance of strength and solidity, as though he were clad in stone or steel as the dark color devoured the sun's light, and making him seem more a god than a mortal.

The O-katana worn at his hip, cutting-edge up in the traditional battōjutsu stance, was eye-catching. The weapon was kept in a black metal scabbard with a yellow tie hanging from the bottom of it. The wrapping around the hilt was white though there was a straight black line going down from the cap to the tsuba, which like the cap was a bronze color. It was the Devil blade Yamato, a dark-forged blade that was used to open or seal a pathway to the Demon World and had once belonged to someone named vergil Sparda. He'd found it in the demon world five years ago.

But the true shock was the headband hanging around his neck. The leaf-sized spiral arrow Konoha insignia was cut through with and upside-down crucifix.

He gave off a vile feeling of darkness; oozing power, intensity, and foulness. The coldness of his presents was almost too much to handle. However, there was something even more unappealing to him. While yes, there was cold, there also seemed to be some unnatural warmth to his being as well. Like a corpse rotting in the sun while vultures pecked at its rancid meat, while his breath had a stench reminiscent to embalming fluid.

Every living thing around him, even the rocks and trees, desperately wanted to remove themselves from his presence, but they bodis felt entirely numb. Entirely cold. Almost like he was sapping the warmth from their bodies.

As he opened his mouth to show shark-like fangs, The scent of embalming fluid evolved into more distinct smells: formaldehyde, rust, blood, sweat, tears, and, most terrifying of all to Itachi, deep, unending water. This thing was a sea. A sea of the darkest things man could accomplish. Genocide, rape, mutilation...every foul thing that mankind did or was...this was all that this thing was composed of. It was a walking avatar to the atrocities the world had to offer.

This thing was death.

No...that wasn't right, he wasn't death. He was worse.

Malfested.

He had to confess the cavern made a good place to rest, it was a good hundred feet long and more than twenty feet wide, yet it had a small opening that protected it from bad weather and prying eyes. Darkness swallowed the far end of the cave's interior, clinging to the walls like mats of soft black wool.

All he had needed was a good thick bedroll, which he had ended up looting from a traviling caravan recently after his arrival five years ago. Having altered his physical appearance with his knowlage of the aracne brance he knew, blood magic, which was something he learned he could do just so long as his blood stayed the same, his sole tie to the past was the headband around his neck.

His stomach growled and he decided to get himself something to eat.

The young Malfested made his way down to the best hunting spot in the forest he had made his home, it was close to a river, so the banks were wet and lush, feilds of grass stood six feet high, through which roamed heards of deer, which flurished due to that no hunters came into this forest out of fear of its reputation.

A good spot for hunting.

Spotting an iguna-sized lizard, he nodded to himself. He wasn't hungry enough to eat a whole deer by himself today. So the lizard would do, it was the size of a fully grown iguana, about six or seven feet.

He held out a hand in the lizard's direction in a shape very similar to how a puppeteer controled a marionette, the hand shape was oddly clawed at the end. He suddenly clinched his fist and the lizard suddeny dropped dead.

_'I love being a blood mage...'_ he thought to himself fondly, creating a heart attack was child's play for him. Things like hunting or combat were simple when you could take hold of the various fluids contained within a living organism's body and then manipulate them to control the movement of their intended target or kill them outright. It was part of why humans no longer came into this forest if they could help it.

He'd found that after learning how to turn from human to Malfested at will, his blood magic was stronger. It suited him fine.

Gathering the reptile, he gutted, skinned, ano otherwise cleaned it, burying the offil deep enough to hide from scavengers. Gathering thin, flat stones, he built a small oven and after building a small fire within it, set the meat to coocking. Without salt, he couldn't season it, but that wasn't a problem at all to him. The inital bite stuck in his throat and the taste of hot grease almost made him feel sick, but he dry-swallowed twice and the unpleasentness faded. Ripping thick gobblets of flesh with his teeth from the carcass. With each bite, he consumed as much meat as he could and stripped each bone clean with the effeciency of one who posssessed an intimate knowlage of how animals were constructed and the quickest way to disassemble them.

As he chewed and swallowed the last bit of meat off the tip of the tail, he heard something that sounded like something crashing through his forest. Haphazardly at that. A biped juging from the fact that he only heard one set of feet inpacting the ground.

Someone was running through the woods. With a grin at the thought, he stood up and headed for where the noise was coming from. climbing a tree and using the tree branches and leaping from one to another to get there quickly.

After a few hours, he stopped as the one who was intruding came into his sight. To his surprise, it was a young woman, hardly any older than him.

She had a reserved and youthful appearance, with shoulder-length blonde hair, green eyes, pale skin, pink lips, small freckles on her cheeks and a blue ribbon on her right side of her head. She wore an elegant white dress with long leather brown and white boots, a brown shirt and gloves. Overall, her outfit seemed to follow a chained-heart theme as she had several chains as well as stylized hearts on it. This was the most obvious with her armlet, which showed a heart in a birdcage, surrounded by chains.

She tensed at the sound of horses and watched as a large group of armed knights surrounded her, and she, trembeling all over, took a sloppy fighting stance.

Dispite, her carrying a short sword and a small round shield, both of which looked greek in the origin of their smithing style, her moveset strongly suggested that she had little to no experience in battle. That fact was most visible in her stance, her guarding stance and her clumsy throws. All in all, she seemed weak-willed and reluctant to fight. The way she fought combined with her speech patterns and deminor as she attempted to fend off her attackers made it clear her participation in battle was very forced. She must have taught herself to avoid conflict and apologize even as others turned their back on her.

He turned his back and started to leave, it wasn't his problem at all. It was a tough break, but their's was a mean world and it was best if people get used to it. He didn't care, not even a little bit.

A scream of pain and sobing for mercy and to be left alone, followed by enraged shouts of the words "Monster" and "Bad omen" and "Bringer of Woe" and other scornful things reached his ears.

Then he stopped. He stood there for a moment. Remembering.

"Damn it!" he shouted "I'm such a weakling!"

* * *

Pyrrha stumbled back and tripped over a tree root as a pike's tip went past her cheek, leaving a trail of blood. Why? Why did her life always have to be like this?! What had she done to deserve this?! She shuffled backwards, tears filling her eyes.

"Die, wench!" the knights shouted and brought their weapons down on her, she closed her eyes and turned away, at least if she were dead, she couldn't hurt anymore.

But rather than steel...rather than pain...rather than the peaceful bliss of death, there was the sound of metal stricking metal and she opened one eye to peek at what what happening. A moment later, she was gaping.

Who was that?!

A young man with red-streaked silver hair and dressed all in black (from what she could tell anyway), stood between her and the ones whom had been after her, blocking them with a sword of his own.

"A Dozen-on-one, and a young woman who dosen't want to fight? You guys have a pretty jacked up notion of fair play, and it's beginning to piss me off. Never return, this is my land. If you think to cause trouble here, I'll slay you all." he said cooly and emotionlessly.

"Try it! We're the warriors of Graf Dumas!" one roared, obviously the commander.

"Heh. Fine...I hope you've all lived full lives!" he hissed.

With that, he shoved their weapons off his own and then glared.

At one, the men sceamed in agony and the horeses bellowed and in moments, the entire company all blew apart in a spray of blood.

"Tore them to pices from the inside out using the iron in their blood to cut them apart like that...I forgot how much I enjoy doing that to idiots like them." he said, tone full of sadisfaction.

Sheathing his sword, he looked at her with a strange intensity, as though he were looking at and beyond her, into her soul for something he was trying to confirm. It made her nervious.

"You too, huh?" he said. It was so abrupt that she was caught compleatly off-guard.

"What?"

He sighed, swallowing how this made the bile rise in his stomace and form into a hard lump in his throat. "Hell's not all fire, brimstone, and demons, it can be more subbtle than that...but compared to that pitch-black isolation, even demons would be welcome, even the most brutal form of contact is a comfort."

Pyrrha trimbled. How did he...!?

He looked at her closely, his eyes lingering on her face and then drifted to her armlet. "A caged and shackled heart...fitting." he murmered, almost sadly.

She backed away, frightened.

He gave the deep sigh of a weary soul and looked at her "I've been in...that place...before, I know what its like, what it dose to people. I was lucky...or thought I was anyway, I'm a prisoner there again. Here's what I know from having to go through that nightmare: When you've spent your whole life surrounded by the darkness of the human heart, having people that you care about and care about you in turn is like being able to cluch a star in your bare hands."

He placed his hand on the cut on her cheek and in a few seconds, removed it to expose unscared, flawless skin, as though the injury had never been there.

_'That day five years ago when I emerged from the demon world and into this one using blood magic...the effect the demon world had on me caused my heart to stop, my blood spoiled and turned to acidic napalm, my veins stretched and burn, my fists ach, my bones snap like dead twigs whenever I move and everything I see is through a crimson haze as if there were a veil of blood mist around me. So why...why do I see her so clearly? Why's the blood mist not covering her?'_ he thought. Of all those things, it was the last one that he had found the most important.

And most of all, why...why did he care?! Why was he acting like that sentimental dumbass, the old him?! She was a curiosity, he decided. From what he saw, she had a sweet, somewhat fragile and sad personality. Not unlike his own had been growing up.

Pyrrha stared. It was her only reaction to what he had said to her that she could manage.

He turned to look at the dead bodies he'd butchered and spat on the corpses.

"Humans...they are but stubborn and foolish. It takes a a journey to hell for them to accept and praise their myth of "God". But even then, they save themselves and wait for someone else to solve the problem. Few are willing to risk their lives to defend others. Most are content to live, forgetting what life is for, like livestock. They need neither pride nor respect."

"What do you mean myth?" she asked.

He chuckled humorlessly. "Take the Third Crusade in 1191 in which Richard I of England defeated Saladin at Arsuf. Richard and Saladin both wanted to expand their teratory and rule, but who would be willing to die if they were told "I'm your ruler and I want more power and control throughout the land", so they invented a myth and called it "God" to convence fools to take up arms, with both sides using "God" as why they were fighting, yet neither caring to learn that, too busy shoving steel into one another's guts to care. Therefore, if history teaches anything, it's that "God" is a myth invented and used to justify murder...but then, that's just my own personal view on the subject."

Pyrrha stared, it was clear his life being so overly and unnessarily hard had caused him to have such a "faithless", as any priest or believer in the way of religion in general, attitude. Yet it also got her thinking. She reviewed her past...how she had lived her life as a wanderer for seventeen years, how she had no one she could truly call "family", whatever that was. How she knew nothing about her past. How all those who got close to her strangely died, thus she gained the nickname the "Bringer of Woe". How she was purchased by a nobleman's son in a slave market and how he was murdered and everyone thought that she was the killer and she was arrested even though she hadn't killed anyone.

Then there were the sufferings and atrocities that plauged everyone else in the world. war, famine, pestilence, and death were all over and no one seemed to really care, putting themselves first unless it effected them personally.

If what this young man was saying was lies and personal opinion, why did a divine benevolence that was said to love all things allow suffering like that to even exist? But perhapse she was just thinking too much about it. He did say that was only his personal view of things.

That was when she recalled something important she had overlooked.

"Thank you." she said, standing up and gathering her shield and sword.

"Hm?" he turned back to her. "Ho...you're welcome."

Pyrrha looked at him and had to admit he was actually quite hansome...but the feeling he gave off was unnerving.

"Um...well...I guess I'll go."

He sighed, "You know the way? Or were you just running blindly to escape Graf Doof-mas's lapdogs?"

She blushed, embaressed.

That was all the answer he needed. "Relax, I'm no stranger to armed, self-rightious cut-throtes being after me either, you tend to think more about putting distance between you and their weapons more than worrying about where you're going."

Cracking his neck to remove an apparent kinck in it, he continued speaking.

"Everyone carries their own banners of "right". The truth of the world is that the definitions of "good" and "bad' are arbitrary and objective - often changing or switching depending on who's in a position of authority. Truly, what is the law? the answer to that is simple: guidelines. A set of regulations made by those in power that dictate what a civilized society is suppose to be. If a person was loyal to those guidelines, that makes them "good". If people choose to opperate outside of the guidelines set those in power and instead, function within their own definitions of "right" or "wrong", that's all it takes to being seen as "evil" by those around you.

These men are just blind fools that believed you were wicked because someone else said so. Humans are stupid that way: they love bad news and don't bother to ask questions since, rather than making it _right_, blind obedience makes living _easy_, even if it causes suffering."

Pyrrha gave a tiny, weary smile at his understanding. But it made her feel bad. If he shared the kind of past she'd had, then she had confess that however his worldviews about things like religion and justice seemed wrong to those who looked at them from the outside, they were earned and justified by his own life experinces.

That was something she fully understood herself.

"You talk about humans as if you weren't one yourself." she said.

He shrugged. "So? I've been denied my humanity by those around me ever since I was a newborn. Seeps into your bones and eats at your mind after a while, my guess, that's where this whole "Malfested" thing really comes from."

The young woman nodded, seeing his point. Those called malfested were human, just had hard lives that made thinking of themselves as human, as being the same as the ones who made their lives hard to begin with, something they weren't willing to do after a lifetime of being made out to be something that they really weren't.

"Come on...I'll show you the way to the nearest town." he said, turning his back to her and walking away, she followed a few paces behind.

**AN: Well, here's a new one that I did as a challenge from Villain84 Beta 01. A NarutoxSoul Caliber where Naruto's a Malfested. The pairing was NarutoXTira, but I decided to make it NarutoXPyrrha/Pyrrha-Omega. I'm a bit surprised nobody's thought to write up a story with this pairing yet, but I'm not complaining if I'm the first.**

**Before the events of Soulcalibur V, Pyrrha has lived her life as a wanderer for seventeen years, not knowing her family exists because she has no one she can truly call "family". **

**Pyrrha knows nothing about her past. All those who got close to her strangely died, thus she gained the nickname the "Bringer of Woe". Pyrrha was purchased by a nobleman's son named Jurgis, in a slave market and began working as a maid. One day Jurgis proposed to Pyrrha, but that night he was murdered. Everyone thought that she was the killer and she was arrested. It was then that Tira appeared to manipulate her for her own ends, her own heart too fragile to resist. **

**Since Sophitia ****was once struck with fragments of the evil sword upon Soul Edge's destruction, one fragment was impossible to remove and was left alone. That piece was buried close to her heart and she could die from damage to the heart if attempted to remove.**

**That piece of the cursed sword continued to emit evil energy within Sophitia. Three years later, Sophitia gave birth to her first child, Pyrrha. Having undertaken all the evil energy flowing in her mother's body, Pyrrha was born as a child with a powerful evil aura.**

**The fragment of the cursed sword increased in power by devouring the souls of opponents killed by Pyrrha. Forced by Tira, Pyrrha has already claimed the souls of others several times. Now Pyrrha's body, whenever a destructive emotion flares up, is corrupted by an overflowing of evil energy."**

**And the Announcer quote where she first becomes Pyrrha-Omega to protect Patroklos from the sissy-version of Nightmare is "Now that she has tasted happiness, she CAN NOT let it go!" It seems to me that Naruto, as a Jinchuriki, would empathise with Pyrrha due to his own troubled past and how his whole life got shot to hell. So of course, he'd want to be there for her as much as possible and they could end up falling for one another.**

**And let's face it, it'll be a good way to kick off a rivalry between Naruto and Patroklos. ****Patroklos is a self-rightious, self-proclamed malfested-slayer and Naruto would want to protect Pyrrha from her own brother since SHE'S malfested...Imagin how that could go and how it could escalate from there!**

**As for why Naruto has the sword of Vergil Sparda...I wanted to give him a good weapon, and if guys like Link, Heihachi, Kratos, and Ezio are in Soulcaliber, adding a Devil May Cry element into the mix isn't too much of a stretch, and since Yamato can be used to open or seal a pathway to the Demon World, Naruto could have gotten his hands on it by traviling to the soulcaliber-world by passing through the demon world. And the sword's powers WILL play a role later in the story.**

**Anyway, it'll be a while before the second chapter is out, I only wanted to lay the groundwork for this story with this first one. But bear with me, readers. Trust me, I wish I could pull perfectly formed chapters out of thin air whenever I want, but I can't.**

**ALSO: be sure to review and tell me WHAT you like about the story!**


	2. Chapter 2

Pyrrha followed the young man whom had come to her rescue. While she was greatful, she had felt that doing what he had done, however he had, was going a bit too far. Causing someone to conbust like that was pretty grousome, and from what he had said, he'd done things like that before.

"Pyrrha! There you are! I was so worried about you!" the voice of a young woman cried, her delight palpable. Pyrrha turned to see the person she considered to be her only friend: Tira.

Pyrrha noted Tira had changed her outfit, now wearing mostly red. Her clothes were something out of a circus act, red tights that showed plenty of skin while keeping all the fun parts hidden from view. He hands and forearms were hidden behind clawed metal gloves as her large metal ring hung from her elbow as she whirled it about in a circular motion.

"What happened to you, I told you not to go wandering off, young lady. You got in trouble again," Tira snapped, sounding like a disaproving big sister or mother. Pyrrha always did wonder why and how Tira's voice could go from high-pitched and childish to low and gruff at the drop of a hat like that...

"Tira, please, it wasn't my fault! I was being chased by some of Graf Dumas's men!" Gloomy caused Tira's scowl to deepen at the name the "sissy-fied" (as Jolly put it) version of her master had taken on.

"I ended up running into this forest and then this yong man came out of nowhere and ended up rescuing me and brought me back here." Pyrrha said timidly, thinking Tira was scowling at her for getting into trouble with the Graf's troops.

"Ho...so where is your friend then?" Tira asked with intrest. Privetly, she wondered if this person's soul would be sutable enought for her master to forsake that subterfuge and diplomacy-prefering fraud who had become the new Azure Knight. Just thinking of what her master had turned into made her sick and Tria hoped that whoever this was would snap Soul Edge back to it's senses.

"He's right..."Pyrrha started to say, then turned to see the young man who had helped her was gone without a trace, even that creepy aura he spread was gone. "Oh..." the young greek woman said, a little sadily. She'd been hoping to have Tira and him meet, that way she'd know there could be others whom she could all call friends with her.

"You said...he seemed to come out of nowhere, right?" Tira said, raising an eyebrow at her naïve, reluctant, protégée "Guess that makes sense that he'd be able to vanish like that."

"I guess that makes sense...I did see him blow the twelve people that were after me apart along with their horses, just by looking at them. Said he "tore them to pices from the inside out using the iron in their blood to cut them apart like that" to do it."

Tira's eyes widened. Say what? Ending twenty-four lives, human and animal, all at once just by looking at them like that? Ho...now she just had to see if this guy was worthy of being Lord Inferno's new host! if not...Tira eyed Pyrrha with hidden calcultaion...there was always that scheme she had been working on for seventeen years now.

Tira smailed and pat the girl on the shoulder "Relax Pyrrha...you'll see this guy again, I'll personally see to that, whatever it takes!" she chirped in Jolly's voice.

Pyrrha smiled at her circus-themed friend "Thanks Tira..."

Tira smiled back as the two walked off. Ho, she planned on making sure of that promise, all right...there was no mistake about that. Of course she had her _own_ reasons for it, but the little puppet next to her didn't need to know that...or what those reasons were.

"Another one?" the young man said from the roof of a near-by building, safely out of sight as he watched the two young women. They both gave off a feeling simialr to his own.

Who were they?

Come to think of it...for some reason or another...the one with the macabre-fest hula hoop seemed to remind him of how Gaara was back when he was a murdering, insomniac, psychopath.

Best watch out for her and stay well clear of the over-sized chakram.

He watched both women until he saw they were heading back in the direction of the forest. He felt his brow twitch in annoyance. Of all the stupid, waste-of-time...they were just heading in the direction he and that young woman had just come from! Still...while he didn't like having his time wasted, he understood the reason why they were: they were looking for him now, and the one with the sword and shield had heard him call the forest his lands after all.

Jumping down while employing parkour, he reached the ground in no time at all, and then headed for a small meadery for a watered-down drink.

Mere moments later, he was standing outside with a drink in his hand, due to the owner finding his presence unsetteling and therefore bad for business, gulping deeply.

"Make way and fear not, good humans, for the avatar of justice has arraved!"

At the sound of the voice, he choacked and spit out the contents of his flaggon. It couldn't be! He turned to see who had just entered town and saw a seventeen-year-old with curly blond hair and green eyes, dressed in a caracal-themed outfit.

Not him. Not him...but enough alike. But seeing who it was, he felt it was a case of the same diffrence. The blond man's bearing and how he held himself was proof of that. Why in the name of all things did it have to be Patroklos Alexander? Still...this being the first time he'd heard the guy's voice, he felt it was an honest mistake. Oh, he knew all about Patroklos from his blood prophecy castings.

Needless to say, it was like dealing with Sasuke all over again.

Patroklos easily obeyed Graf Dumas without question, had tendencies toward overly radical measures, like killing everyone who simply _looked _malfested without even confirming if they were one because he beared a grudge. He wasn't one to put much thought into his actions and was easily controlled by negative emotions.

Hell, they even _sounded_ excatly the same!

Patroklos had to wonder. Why did the people here look at him with scorn? He was the Holy Warrior, he was Justice, he was the Bane of the Malfested.

"Could you be any more full of yourself?" a voice to his left said and the blond Athenian turned to see someone dressed in all black standing there.

The silver-and-red haired man looked at his junior by four years "Why do you go around killing anyways? Seems unbecoming for a holy warrior not to follow the commandment of "Thou shall not kill". So why go around committing murder?"

At that, Patrokolos snarled "Malfested kidnapped my sister and murdered my mother! What's wrong in avenging these crimes?! They're not even human! They're demons that have sold their souls to the devil!"

"I see. You're a _righteous_ fiend, aren't you?" the young man asked with a mocking smirk. Inwardly, he felt ready to explode. _'Yep...EXACTLY like Sasuke, right down to the self-righteous megalomaniac attude, I just hate the cockiness of this kind of character, acting like he's royalty and thinks of everyone else as nobodies...I swear, why do I always seem to run into these types? Is it just my bad luck?' _he thought.

Patroklos scowled and the man laughed.

"Anyway...I assume you're here about the "Malfested Forest" as it's know as that's a ways away from here? Give it up kid, you've got no chance. The malfested in that forest lacks all emotions but "comort", there's no joy, no anger, and no sorrow, and as such thinks nothing of killing. Yet while that malfested's only emotin is comfort, it lacks "peace", so it can never be predicted. And it only leaves that mindset upon encountering something that reminds it of it's past...needless to say, that goes from bad to worse and brings out another level of brutality from it. And it's kill count is already in the eight-digit mumbers. But I know your type so..."

He set his empty flaggon down then toss his sword aside and walked up to within six feet of Patroklos and put his fists up in front of him.

"What are you doing?" the self-proclamed "holy Warrior" asked.

"If you can't even beat me, you won't be able to win against the Malfested that lives in that forest. Hand-to-hand is the basis of all combat. If you're defeated at a bare-bones, simple fist fight, you'll eventually have to accept your own worth, or lack of it. Tell you what...I've give you a crutch to help you. I'll fight you without my sword while you can use yours _and _I'll be blindfolded." he said, pulling up the headband that hung aroung his neck and slid it over his eyes, tightening the knot that kept it tied around his neck so it wouldn't slip from it's new position.

Patroklos scowled "That arrogance of yours'll get you killed."

"It's only arrogance if you fail to back it up," his opponent said, "wanna try your luck?"

Annoyed at this stranger looking down on him, Patroklos growled then lunged, bringing his swords down in a slash, "You won't be so cocky for long, you can't block a sword with your fists!" he shouted.

"Oh...can't I?" his opponent asked silkily as the blow struck, the sword of the "holy warrior" pressing against the back of his fist yet didn't cut through felsh, skewn, and bone.

He enjoyed the shock that he could feel radiating off the attack dog. Why he was able to block the sword's blade was simple: He had metal gauntlets under his black gloves, sure it was fighting dirty, but in battle there was no fair or unfair, only win or loose. And he had no intention of looseing to some self-rightious, rabid attack dog.

"PATHETIC!" he shouted, landing a blow to Patroklos's chin and sent him reeling.

As the Athenian shook his head to clear his senses, he felt his mind working to explian how what had just happened was possible. "No human can stop a sword's bladed edge with their hands the way you did...so you must be a Malfested!" Patroklos roared with fury.

"If I am or not, it's not like you'd ever check to confirm it in the first place. You assume everyone's Malfested just because they breathe too loudly or too softly, you're so drunk off self-satisfaction and phony rightiousness." the twenty-one-year-old scoft tauntingly. From what he could hear of the contractions of muscles and friction of bones, he knew exactly what this idiot was doing.

The seventeen-year-old young man looked down at his sword and shield, then scoft and tossed them aside, they were no good to him in this fight, that much was obvious. And what wasn't of further use had to be discarded. He stood and raised his fists in front of him and lunged.

"Frontal attack. A full swing after lunging...a fool's only trick." he spurt as if trying not to laugh, hearing the dunce's heart rate go up easily told him Patroklos was shocked.

Patroklos lunged, throwing multiple blows, going so fast that his arms were a blur. "If I constantly attack, you can't counter, and if you can't counter, I'll eventually beat you down!"

Unfortunatly, he lacked the level of stamina needed to maintain his assult, and once he stopped attacking, Patroklos felt his jaw drop. No way...not a single one had hit? And he couldn't see them through that blindfold he was wearing. What kind witchcraft _was_ this?!

"And if you never land a blow?" he asked amused, "you can't approch me in ability or experience. All you are is a puppet and a rampaging murderer." he said, then spun on his heel and walked away, lowering his headband back to hang around his neck as he did so.

"What are you doing?!" the blond roared in outrage.

The older man turned his head to look at his beaten adverasry, pinnioning him with his gaze. Contempt gleaming in that one horrible, awful violet eye he looked at him with.

"What's it look like? I'm leaving. I'm not here to strangle an infant that's yet to even risk leaving it's mother's whomb. You need others to watch out for you and your skills are pathetic, put those things togeather and you're just a puppet. Utterly helpless unless someone else moves you. All in all, you're such a waste of life that you're not even worth killing. I can't waste time with an utter fool who can't see or hear the truth even after all this. If you want to enter the Malfested Forest, go ahead. Go hurry up and get killed."

"DON'T YOU DARE LOOK DOWN ON ME, DON'T YOU DARE TURN YOUR BACK ON ME! I AM THE HOLY WARRIOR!"

Groaning, he whipped around and slammed a fist into the younger man's jaw, sending him flying and the dog crashed into the ground with a sickening crack of bone as something within him broke upon impact.

He sighed and glared at you younger man on the ground. "Thanks a ton, Patroklos. Now I'm thinking of the past and when I do that, I need to kill something...shame really...this town wasn't all that bad a place." he said, picking up Yamato and drawing it from it's scabbard and began walking into the center of town for some stress relief.

After that...he was heading home to meet some people.

**AN: Well, that's another chapter down. Sorry if it's short, but the main focuse in this was to get Naruto and Patroklos off to their rough start. And yes, Naruto was describing himself in the third person when he was talking about what caused that forest to earn its title seeing as nobody else in the Soul Calibur world knows he's a Malfested yet.**

**I gave Tira her outfit from Soul Caliber 4, seeing as I could describe it better, hope nobody minds.**

**I can't decide on what sword style I want to give Naruto, so I'm open to suggestions.**

**AND PLEASE REVIEW! THEIR GOOD FOR THE STORY!**


	3. Chapter 3

Pyrrha led Tira through the forest that her rescuer had said was his land. He had to be here again, he just had to...at least she hoped, that way they could become friends and she'd be less alone.

Suddenly, Tira held her arm out in front of the wanderer and stopped her as Tira sniffed at the air. "Smell that? Someone's roasting fish nearby. Might be your new boyfriend."

Pyrrha went beet red at that, sputtering denials, which only made the assassin laugh.

Tira took point in leading the two, of course she had to push plants aside for Pyrrha, but that was just to seem nice. After all, the puppet thought they were friends. Best act the role until it was no longer needed to be performed.

Sure enough, back in that clearing where he had hunted his breakfeast, Naruto looked up as the two young ladies arrived, he was planning on finding them, not the other way around, but a whole sale slaughter like he had done earlier after his run-in with Patroklos had a way of causing one to have the need to fill one's stomach.

Seeing the silver-haired young man in black again, Pyrrha went wide eyed and then beamed, rushing past Tira.

"I knew it! I knew you had to be in this place! Thank you again for your help earlier...um...uh...whoops, I didn't get your name before, my aplogies." Pyrrha said.

"Well...you didn't introduce yourself to me either, so we're even." he chuckled. He fully expected that, given the situation she had been in earlier with the troops after her and all. And while it was a small lie that he didn't know who she was, having heard her and Tira speaking earlier once they had reached town, she hadn't given him her name.

Pyrrha seemed a little taken aback, then a small, embaressed.

"Ho...right. I'm sorry, my name's Pyrrha." she said as she looked down and began pressing her fingers together and fidgit with her index digits.

"Naruto" the black-clad young man said in reply, looking at Pyrrha, something about her stance or the way she was pressing her fingers awakened a memory. _'She reminds me of Hinata...'_ Naruto thought, then he scowled internally at that. He loathed his past.

"This is Tira, she's a friend of mine...my...um...only one if I'm honest." Pyrrha said, indicating the assassin with the ring blade.

Naruto nodded. Though looking at Tira, he suspected the word "friend" wasn't accurate. More like a puppeter. And Pyrrha was the puppet.

The thought made him sick.

Tira however, was much more interested in their surroundings, "So this is the Malfested Forest," Tira said with clear interest, looking around, then looked at Naruto, "You know, I hear a really deadly Malfested lives in these woods, are you sure it's safe for you to live here?"

At that, Naruto's eerie smile widened slightly and he snickered, as if enjoying a privet joke.

"Ah...I'm not scard of the Malfested that lives in these woods." Naruto said, shaking with minor convulsion of silent laughter.

Tira's eyes widened and then her eyes gleamed and a wide smile stretched across her face as she caught on to just what was so funny: Of course he wasn't scard of what gave this forest its title. He _WAS_ the Malfested! Why would he need to fear himself?!

Still...even knowing that, she had to confess that there was something about him that seemed off. His smiles never met his eyes and it seemed to be like he was wearing a mask. And under that mask, there was something foul, yet he stayed cheerful...stayed comfortable, he forced himself to be.

And judging from the stong smell of smoke, and even stronger than that was the smell of blood on him, something she would know anywhere, he'd been off killing somewhere.

_LOTS_ of killing!

"Say...I'm wondering something: Pyrrha told me how you helped her, but why did you do it? Not that I'm complaining, but what made you rip the Graf's lapdogs to bits like that?"

The comfortable expression becamed strained somewhat, "It makes me bitter thinking about my past and I don't like it, I've been hated and hunted like a beast by self-rightious windbags like that before. I couldn't turn away from Pyrrha's need for help even if I had wanted to. So I helped."

Tira's eyes widened. If that were so...then what lied in his soul was "Bitter Comfort"! It made her giddy that Pyrrha had come across someone like this. Tira had to confess that the powerful evil aura coming off this guy was enough to make even her uneasy. Even by Malfested standards, this one wasn't normal.

Perfect!

This she could use, she knew she could. It made her excited. Soon her master would be back to the way he SHOULD be!

Ever since taking up the mantel of "Graf Dums", he'd set about doing things with political methods rather than living up to the nickname of the "Azure Nightmare", so much so that people now considered Nightmare little more than a myth. Yet her master continued to play political games and hide away like a frightened rabbit! It made her sick! She couldn't even stand the thought of him any longer while he was like that! While the world was always changing, making it so that words and documents had just as much impact as any weapon, humanity was natrually a destructive race! It was an ever-constant! Most of their advancments were in ways to kill one another, war and destruction stood out the most pronounced in their history, if there was something they didn't understand, they saught to destroy it before learning about it!

Damn Radrigo and Cesare Borgia! DAMN THEM AND THE ENTIRE TEMPLAR ORDER FOREVERMOR! Lord Inferno would have stayed the way he should have if he hadn't been found by those bastards in 1506!

Which was why, as a slayer of the Templar Order as well as a fellow assassin, Ezio Auditore da Firenze had her respect.

Naruto looked at Pyrrha, who had gone rosy in the cheeks at how he had said that he'd wanted to help her. He figured as much, people that knew nothing but pain offten attached themselves to those who showed them kindness, he knew that from first-hand expirence with Iruka.

Pyrrha, seeing Naruto look at her, suddenly felt bashful, feeling that it would only grow more akward for her if it turned into a streatched-out slience, she felt like asking him something that would get his mind off her for a few seconds to allow her to compose herself.

"So...I'm wondering: if you could...do things like what you caused to the men who were attacking me when me met before..." Pyrrha swallowed, the memory making the bile rise within her stomache, "...why do you carry a sword, is it just for show or can you actually use it?"

Naruto gripped Yamato's hilt, he had expected that question. As for his sword style, he had learned an ancient kenjutsu style from the Sengoku Jidai developed to allow a single samurai to defeat numerous foes single-handedly: Hiten Mitsurugi.

Of course, learning the style had been somewhat of a royal pain in the ass, seeing as Hiten Mitsurugi was known by very few people in history due to the fact that it has only passed on from master to apprentice and only for fourteen generations, with each apprentice taking the life and special mantle of his master as well as the name "Hiko Seijūrō". Additionally, the immense force and energy required to perform many of the Hiten Mitsurugi's moves took a cumulative toll on the body of the user and the effects inevitably render the user incapable of wielding the style's tremendous power.

But for him, being rendered incapable of the style wasn't as issue. After all, he had a healing factor that made it so he could regenerate instantaneously, something that no other practitioner of the style was capable of.

The memory of his most recent use of it, killing the population of an entire town before he'd burnt the whole town to the ground to where the heat from the flames had actually melted that ashes and had seeped into the ground, amused him, since, like he had told Patroklos, Naruto lacked all emotions but "comort", and the only time he ever got out of that mindset is when something or someone reminded him of his past in the shinobi nations.

Best of all was that he'd gotten the idiot out of there before he'd destroyed the place and had left him in the middle of the black stain into the ground next to a flag of Rudolf II, the Holy Roman Emperor whom had bestowed favors to Graf...it felt good to frame that nitwit! Best of all, since he was already regarded as a rabid killer, Patroklos's was the perfect fall-guy, and no matter how he denied it, his past actions that made him be seen as a rampaging murderer would paint him as the guilty one.

And the backlash would blow up in Rudolf II and Graf Dumas's faces. Leading them to utter ruin.

Between Hiten Mitsurugi, his skills that he'd learned in the demon world, his blood magic, and the skills he developed as a shinobi back in the Elemental Nations, it was easy to see how his kills were in the eight-digit number area already even before he'd razed the town.

"That's something I only answer to my enemies, and they can't say. A person dose have the right to defend themself, after all."

Tira nodded and after a while of thinking it over, so did Pyrrha, albet a little reluctently on the later's part.

Naruto took two of the cooked fish from the fire and offered them to the ladies before him "My aplogies for the discourtasy. You two must be hungry. Here."

Pyrrha gave a small smile and nodded her thanks, accepting the food. She enjoyed munching the fish in silence, this was one of the rare moments where her life was actually content or peaceful.

After finishing the meal, Naruto looked at Pyrrha again, thinking. It wouldn't do for someone as innocent as her to be running around the country with a manipulitive killer and superstition-phobic fools nipping at her heels. He stood up. "I suggest you not come back here, you won't find me in this forest again," Naruto said, walking into the cave he lived in here in the forest.

Hearing that, Pyrrha looked shocked. WHAT?! What did he mean she wouldn't find him here any more or that she shouldn't come here again? Was he just going to abandon her? Even after how he had said that he couldn't turn away from when she needed help? Crushing disappointment filled her face and she felt ready to weep at the idea. She felt as though she were being dragged back into the darkness. Into loneliness. As if one of those stars she could cluch in her bare hands and hold close had just abruptly been extinguished. She'd really hoped… she'd really thought…

When he emerged, he wore a white Japanese kitsune mask, a dark blue-gray robe with gray lining and a fur collar, and a tattered gray-blue cape emblazoned with his personal emblem: nine reddish-brown circles of varying sizes arranged in a cross pattern, atop a larger green-grey circle over his usual, all-black attire with his sword's hilt poking out from under his caped robe and he had his bedroll mat tied across his back.

"...because I'm coming with you."

At once, Pyrrha's downtrodden expression reversed to a radient joy. Tira smirked as well, this was good. Whatever made him feel such sympathy and true compassion for Pyrrha rather than his Bitter Comfort, it was compelling him to want to be around her.

Whatever was in his past, it had left him so that other than the Bitter Confort that made him so creepy, he was dead inside, no emotion and no faith in anyone or anything, based off that little speech Pyrrha told her he'd made where he called divine beings a myth. Good. Very Good. Still...she had to be careful, didn't want Pyrrha to wake him up and help him find his soul again, thereby causing him to restart the life he had before he felt that comfort and bitterness, seeing as he himself had confessed anything that remonded him or his own past woke him out of the mindset of what lied in his soul caused him to have. That wouldn't do at all, nope, nope!

Pyrrha stood and walked over to stand next to Naruto. Something that made Tira raise an eyebrow at the shy girl, then gave her a thumbs up as she mouthed two words to her "friend".

Pyrrha went beet red and felt the urge to faint, why did Tira have to teach her how to read lips, and WHY did she have to say _THAT?!_ Why "Bed him"?

Naruto turned to look at Tira, who quickly looked away and whistled innocetly, and frowned behind his mask at her. What was she up to? He shrugged it off and looked at Pyrrha and noticed she was red, as if she had a feaver. He placed his hand on her forehead to check.

It took Pyrrha all of fifty seconds to realize that he was touching her. She redened further and felt herself growing faint until her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell over, cheeks blazing an impressive neon pink.

"Again? why do the cute ones always just plop over like that around me?" Naruto asked, bending over and picked her up and carried her bridal style, slipping her shield and sword on his back...yep, this girl was like Hinata all right.

Tira laughed at that and had to use her Eiserne Drossel as a support to keep from falling over, she was laughing so hard that she couldn't stand from how bad her sides hurt. She bit her tounge to regain control of herself once her mirth had subsided into a few low chuckles and noticed that the two were long gone and moved to follow them, both Jolly and Gloomy in pleasent moods over this development.

Oh...this was going to be entertaining!

Now...how best to see what this Naruto guy could do in battle and taking lives? That was the question. One she aimed to answer no matter how far she had to go.

And she already had an idea as just how to do that. And it was gonna be MESSY!


End file.
